Andreas Weimann

[eamonn]

So, Eastie and Greg were right

[paul_e]

I've thought the same all along.  If we'd seen a couple of loans or a signing of a guy with 6months left on his deal somewhere I'd think it may have been a finance thing but it never felt like that at the time, particularly given that Lambert never seemed concerned about not getting people.

[eastie]

So, Eastie and Greg were right

Not really a question of who was right or not, the only thing that matters is where we find ourselves in may , if we stay up and go on to sign decent players in the summer then lambert will not only been proved a brave man but a wise man too- although i think he took one hell of a gamble not bringing in defensive cover in January.

I hope it pays off and we survive and go on from there - a successful aston villa is what we all want to see .

[Colhint]

I think Lambo should be saying to him (I know he's not English but the principle still applies) Remember Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, Even Jack Rodwell. Playing week in week out, the first 2 were in every squad and the last one breaking through, well when were they last regular starters

[eastie]

I think Lambo should be saying to him (I know he's not English but the principle still applies) Remember Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, Even Jack Rodwell. Playing week in week out, the first 2 were in every squad and the last one breaking through, well when were they last regular starters

I think Weimann will probably stay if we stay up , it will be much harder though to convince benteke to sign a new deal but lets hope both are here next year.

[Chris Smith]

I reckon more money was available, but likely wasnt enough to get the player(s) he wanted, and he didnt want to waste the money on players that didnt fit with his plans

Or maybe the players he wanted were not available in January but may be in the summer?

We could always just believe him when he said that he did make enquiries but the money quoted was out of our price range, which I took to mean wages rather than fees.

[Clampy]

I reckon more money was available, but likely wasnt enough to get the player(s) he wanted, and he didnt want to waste the money on players that didnt fit with his plans

Or maybe the players he wanted were not available in January but may be in the summer?

We could always just believe him when he said that he did make enquiries but the money quoted was out of our price range, which I took to mean wages rather than fees.

That's my take on it as well.

[MonsXI]

Anyone know where I can get the "shine bright like a Wiemann" wallpaper? I saw it the other day somewhere and cant find it now

cheers

[mr-villa]

I reckon they will see the potential at Villa, the ambition of the manager and stay....

 As long as the chairman and CEO are ready to back the manager's vision (and we stay up, of course) I have no fears that our betters players will stay and want to kick on with our club.

This is the problem.  I think players will feel betrayed by the board following the last transfer window where we all but rolled over and surrendered.  The lack of foresight by the board in not reinforcing the squad and particularly the defense was staggering.  If we do stay up it will be by the skin of our teeth.   How is a player supposed to read 'ambition' through those lines?

If any decent offers come in for our better players I suspect they will be off.  And frankly you couldn't really blame them, notwithstanding most of us think the manager has potential.

If you really believe that Weimann was hoping that the club would splash cash in January to bring in a better forward player than him so he could go and sit on the bench for the last 4 months of the season then I think you are wrong.  Weimann is at the perfect club for this stage of his career.  His big decision going forward is do I believe I am good enough to break into the first team at a "giant" club at home or abroad or would I be better served currently getting more 1st team experience at a second tier club like Villa.  He deserves much improved terms but he needs to continue playing regularly to develop his game.  For that reason he should sign up to a further stint at Villa with a view to moving on half way through if the club fails to progress.

[eastie]

Anyone know where I can get the "shine bright like a Wiemann" wallpaper? I saw it the other day somewhere and cant find it now

cheers

Try the official website , they have a load of good regularly updated wallpapers.

[mr-villa]

QB, I disagree.  I think the reason they take the option to go to a big team is because they think and believe they can break into the team and stay there.  Thats why they are where they are, belief.  I think if they honestly know they are just going to be a benchwarmer, not many of them would take it.  They want to play.  Thats why they gave up so much of their life to train week in week out

I'd like to believe you are right and daresay there are some players who fit that description but with the money that is on offer it has to turn heads. The gulf between the wages paid at the likes of City and United to the Villa's and Everton's of this world these days is a lot bigger than it was even ten years ago. Nothing should be taken for granted in a footballer's career and the chance to be financially secure for life is one very few would resist in any walk of life in my opinion. That's why there are so few one club men these days. Outside of the very wealthiest clubs who have players who amass three/four hundred games these days? We had Barry and when he left after eleven years he got called a greedy bastard lol.
Loyalty is a trait exclusive to fans. Players and staff have their own personal agendas and that's the way it is.

Yeah and one four year contract at 15K per week ( that's £3.12 million by the way) makes you financially secure for the rest of your life!!

[chrisw1]

I reckon they will see the potential at Villa, the ambition of the manager and stay....

 As long as the chairman and CEO are ready to back the manager's vision (and we stay up, of course) I have no fears that our betters players will stay and want to kick on with our club.

This is the problem.  I think players will feel betrayed by the board following the last transfer window where we all but rolled over and surrendered.  The lack of foresight by the board in not reinforcing the squad and particularly the defense was staggering.  If we do stay up it will be by the skin of our teeth.   How is a player supposed to read 'ambition' through those lines?

If any decent offers come in for our better players I suspect they will be off.  And frankly you couldn't really blame them, notwithstanding most of us think the manager has potential.

If you really believe that Weimann was hoping that the club would splash cash in January to bring in a better forward player than him so he could go and sit on the bench for the last 4 months of the season then I think you are wrong.  Weimann is at the perfect club for this stage of his career.  His big decision going forward is do I believe I am good enough to break into the first team at a "giant" club at home or abroad or would I be better served currently getting more 1st team experience at a second tier club like Villa.  He deserves much improved terms but he needs to continue playing regularly to develop his game.  For that reason he should sign up to a further stint at Villa with a view to moving on half way through if the club fails to progress.

Of course I don't.  I do, however, suspect that some of the players would have been just as amazed and frustrated as a lot of the fans over the lack of activity during the window (particularly regarding the chronically performing defence) when we were clearly in perilous danger of going down (and remain so almost 2 months later).  I think the lack of activity was a huge gamble with both the clubs future and the players careers.  It doesn't suggest a go forward ambitious club as hinted earlier.

Don't get me wrong, if we don't go down then I think Villa is a very good place to Weiman to develop over the next couple of years.  All I'm saying is you may want to paint Villa as some sort of fantastic opportunity at an ambitious go-getting club, but it may be our actions in the last window would leave some players rather unconvinced of that.  They certainly did the majority of fans I have spoken to (and from the posts at the end of the window many people on here)  That is ALL I am saying - I am not making comment on the relative merits of staying at a club like ours verses going to a club like City, which is an entirely different debate.

[Dante Lavelli]

I reckon they will see the potential at Villa, the ambition of the manager and stay....

 As long as the chairman and CEO are ready to back the manager's vision (and we stay up, of course) I have no fears that our betters players will stay and want to kick on with our club.

This is the problem.  I think players will feel betrayed by the board following the last transfer window where we all but rolled over and surrendered.  The lack of foresight by the board in not reinforcing the squad and particularly the defense was staggering.  If we do stay up it will be by the skin of our teeth.   How is a player supposed to read 'ambition' through those lines?

If any decent offers come in for our better players I suspect they will be off.  And frankly you couldn't really blame them, notwithstanding most of us think the manager has potential.

I actually think the opposite would be true.  Lambert showed a huge (foolish?) amount of faith in a bunch of young players.  I think that naturally made them stronger as a group and gave them all, individually and collectively, greater belief.  I'd suggest that most of them probably feel a debt of gratitude to Lambert for not kicking them into touch when he had more than enough justification.

I'm not commenting on whether the policy was right or wrong, more that I doubt it would be a motivation for anyone to leave.  If we still had players like Barry/Young/Milner in the squad then the reaction might be different, but with this young squad I think the dynamic would be different and benefit from such faith.

[dave.woodhall]

I'm certain that the reason for our lack of January activity was the manager's belief in the current squad. Whether he's right is something we'll soon find out.

So do you believe more money was available to him then , Dave?

Not a massive amount more. I think that there wasn't enough for the players he wants long-term so he gambled on sticking with what he'd got rather than spending on a short-term fix.

[N'ZMAV]

I'm certain that the reason for our lack of January activity was the manager's belief in the current squad. Whether he's right is something we'll soon find out.

So do you believe more money was available to him then , Dave?

Not a massive amount more. I think that there wasn't enough for the players he wants long-term so he gambled on sticking with what he'd got rather than spending on a short-term fix.

and is that expected to change in the summer?